Daisetsuzan is Japan's largest national park, covering over 226,000 hectares of central Hokkaido. The park takes in several mountain groups, active volcanoes, high plateaus, forests, and crater lakes — a genuine wilderness in a country where wilderness is rare.
Sounkyo Gorge is the main tourist hub, with hot-spring hotels and access to cable cars that lift visitors up onto the Kurodake ridge. From there, hikers can traverse the main peaks — Kurodake, Hokkaido's highest point Asahidake at 2,291 m, and the connecting high route — over several days. The Sounkyo ravine itself, with its twin waterfalls Ryusei-no-taki and Ginga-no-taki, is spectacular in autumn when the maple colours are at their peak.
Furano, on the southern edge of the park, is one of Hokkaido's best ski resorts — excellent powder, long runs, and good facilities, easily reached from Asahikawa by train. The main entrances to the park are at Kamikawa and Asahikawa (north), Kitami (east), and Obihiro (south), all accessible by train from Sapporo.